Love's Beat

Chapter 8

          "No, Max. You are not allowed to pick on Jenny just because you like her," Ember chided over the phone. Sounds of whining reached her ear and she smiled indulgently.

Her little brother no longer looked little but he sure still acted like it.

She laughed when Max told her that he had once put a frog in Jenny's shoe along with a note, 'Hop yourself to me'. Her brother had gotten detention and Jenny ignored him for a week.

          She turned a corner, passing by banks of lockers, heading towards her own. "Listen, you little troublemaker. Stay out of trouble for a week and make sure you do all your homework. That way, you can spend two weeks of fun with me during summer holidays." Max cheered so loud and started chattering a mile a minute that she had to put distance between her phone and her ear so she wouldn't lose her hearing.

          "Yes, Max. I know you're excited. I took a day off from work today so I'll be free the whole day to hear about your plans. Now go get ready for school. I have to go. I love you."

Max said his goodbyes and grumbled his 'I love you' since he was, quote, 'too manly to say mushy stuff like that'.

There was a wide smile on her face as she replaced her phone in her bag. She loved speaking with her brother. He never failed to make her smile when she needed it most.

Ember reached her locker and put in the combination. She pulled her locker about an inch open before a hand slammed it close again. Her body froze as a tall figure stood to her right.

          This is not going to end pretty.

Letting out breath, she turned towards the person who might make her school life hell for the rest of the year.

          "Hi there, Jesse."

Jesse still had his hand on her locker door so his arm was extended in front of her face. Even through the crisp, white shirt of his uniform, she could see the muscles bulging underneath it.

Keeping her expression subdued, she tilted her head up to look at his face. Sure enough, the ever-present smirk was there and she could see the challenge glittering in his eyes.

No, she wasn't going to cower from a spoiled, rich kid like Jesse Lark. So she stood up taller and met his challenge face on.

That confused him for a moment judging by his expression before it went back to egoistical and cocky jerk.

          "So Miss Ashe, I presume this belongs to you." He held out her iPod in his other hand. Crap. She must have left it in the dance hall that day and completely forgot about it with Jaden around. Ember tried to snatch it but he pulled it away too quickly. Sonofagun.

          She let out an annoyed sigh. She wasn't going to play his game and no way was she letting him push her around. "Look, what do you want? I have class and I'm going to be late."

He slammed the his hand against her locker again which caught the attention of the other students who haven't already crowded around the both of them. Off to the side, she could see his gang of popular wanna-be's snickering and whispering to each other. They were probably talking about her clothes even though they were all wearing the same uniform.

          Jesse huffed and she turned her attention to him. "What, jealous that you can't keep my attention long enough?" she said with a raised an eyebrow and her best 'You're a puny thing and I'm not scared of you' look.

His left eye twitched. Okay, so it might be a bad thing to step on the toes of the richest guy in school but she couldn't help it. It was too tempting a thing to ruffle his feathers.